luv2nit

Boy, I just love it! Slimeball is correct. Isn't it amazing that, golly gee whiz, he didn't know that Edwards would turn out to be the kind of guy he is. BWright sees this correctly, in that it is always about smearing a Conservative. I'd love to read more about that total fraud, Al Gore.

It's wonderful to read some comments that sound like people are really getting what's going on. Some of these are actually very funny, as well as to the point. For years, someone has told these perps that any expectation of them is "unfair" or based on certain factors, which we can all imagine. Certain "leaders" do not care for the people, just their own power over them. It's a real injustice to potentially intelligent and fine young people who can create a normal life for themselves. Anyone who achieves this good life without the help of Jackson or Sharpton is villified.

Well, what do you know. Seems just a few days ago I wrote in the comment section that this would happen again. To call it a "flash mob" is innacurate, since this term has been used for pleasant and artisitc or musical events. This is the "swarming" of thugs who know they are unlikely to be caught or punished. I hope that the widespread use of surveillance cameras, and the ability of individuals to record things with their own devices, will go a long way to helping the police identify these miserable misfits. Things tend to escalate, so when it becomes boring to just destroy property, they'll have to up the ante. You know, we've just been too nice and made too many excuses for these types. It's interesting to know that during the Great Depression, crime was very very low. Poverty does not automatically lead to crime. It's a personal choice. Our society needs to rein in these people with some hard consequences. Some of the perps may even be grateful to be saved from a life of misery and crime. It sounds like they aren't getting any of this guidance at home.

inkberrow has come up with the info that was left out. This bunch of drunk kids who perpetrated the assault are just following the example from New York City, called "swarming". This was rampant back in the late 80's. There were some serious crimes involved. This is what happened at The Lloyd Center, too. It's a copycat crime, having been committed elsewhere with a lot of people getting away with it. I'm not sure how this was overcome in NYC, but I predict that this will happen again someplace in Portland, unless the police are allowed to do their job. As long as we are not permitted to have a real examination of the facts, things will keep going downhill.

One of the real problems is that Muslims are not condemning the radical acts by some terrorists. If we are in a situation where people are afraid to publish anything about Allah, and have indeed been hunted down and slaughtered over a cartoon, you cannot expect Western people to feel they can trust these Muslims. They have appeared almost out of nowhere, building Mosques at a record rate, and expecting the welcoming country to adjust to their laws and rules, instead of the other way around. They believe that it is not wrong to lie to the "infidel", and there are numerous examples of culturally unacceptable practices that we cannot tolerate. A Mosque in Seattle had a class on teaching men how to beat their wives without showing any evidence of it. The Imam said that, of course, they should only be beaten if they need it. This is not the 12th Century. Why has everyone else coming to the USA had to make adjustments and accept American standards and laws? In England, the gov't monitors the teachings in the Mosques, and are now deporting any leader who preaches violence or overthrow of the Gov't. In my opinion, the FBI is the "thin blue line" between our country, our way of life, and the radical and repressive nature of these groups. In addition, let's see how far an American or any Western person would get in a Muslim country, trying to have a Christian or Jewish holiday. When Iraq was finally freed from Sadam Hussein, it was the first time in 35 years that the Catholic church was able to have a Mass in that country. America is an exceedingly generous and free country. If some Muslims don't like it here, they really should go back to their former country. I believe that this mass migration to Europe and North America is an attempt to fulfill the complete domination of the world. If they were sincere immigrants, they would not be trying to change everything to suit their view of life.

I just have to see the word, "environmentalist", and I know what's coming. It's amazing that while "Rome is burning" in this country, we have people actually spending time and energy to block yet another plan that makes sense. Wow, who knew that helicopters scare bears? I would bet that the bears just wait for the noise to go away and then continue on their way. Wake me when the nonsense is over!

hisboyelroy and pizzaanytime both made good comments. Why is it excused again and again? Punching someone and pulling out their hair (in front of their 6 yr old), just because the mother asked them not to swear in front of her child is an example of the self-indulgent and sense of entitlement attitude these women had about the rest of society. Decent people are sick and tired of the intimidation, violence, threats, and lack of accountability for this kind of behavior. Both are going to get worse. The decent people will finally get totally fed up, and the entitlement people will continue to get worse because they can see that they are getting away with the most anti-social and deviant behavior because of political correctness. At some point this will have to be resolved.

Back when I lived in NYC, we called these incidents "swarmings". I was actually in a swarming at a Talbot's store. About 15 young teenagers swarmed into the store, grabbing anything they could, and then ran out and hopped on a city bus going north. This was a period of time just prior to the election of Giuliani as the new mayor. Even the hide-bound ultra liberal New Yorkers were sick of the lawlessness that had consumed the city, and voted for a Republican. Groups were jumping over the turnstyles in the subway without paying the fares. Other groups were wandering around stabbing unsuspecting people with some kind of needles. People were terrified of AIDS and didn't know what had happened. Giuliani had his "broken window theory". You have to stop the smaller crimes right away and not ignore them or everything escalates. It sends a message that things will be tolerated. I remember when the lite rail was built in Portland. It was supposed to be such a great idea. It still could be if more was done to make it safer for riders. Any reluctance to find and stop these perpetrators will send the message of tolerance. No amount of "talk" will stop it. There has to be a serious conviction that these "swarmings" will be stopped. That means real consequences for the behavior. I first came to Portland in 1967, and I can't tell you what a lovely place it was. Don't assume that the problems of larger cities like NYC can't happen in Portland.

Holy Cow! I was getting all fired up to refute the premise of this article, but Yesterdays Wine had already done it. As I recall the situation with my own children, going back a few years, we were encouraged in the most aggressive way to borrow money for their education. The bank really pushed it. We really didn't need the money, but we took a samller amount, just because it was there. We were able to pay it back soon after the graduation. It seems that people are displaying a lot more common sense and clear thinking that what I normally read in the Oregonian comments. I always thought that if those of us who still remember what the USA used to be like, could just wait out this latest nightmare we're in, we would be able to re-introduce some of the former greatness of the USA. I guess being a baby boomer is a threat to those who want us to believe that "black is white and white is black". (Don't get your knickers in a knot. This is not a comment about any race. )

Aren't we getting tired of this problem? We can't seem to have the rule of law because of the activists and reckless people who see every law they don't like as a call to arms. When something bad happens, the people ask where the police were. When the police do something (they are trained to do), they are vilified. I would like to see some of the street types put in the same position as the police, with the same consequences, and see how well they would do. Just getting through the discipline and training would be too much for them. They are allergic to responsibility or accountability of any kind.

As a landlord myself, I have learned that hiring a realtor to find the right tenants is a savings, in the long run. By right tenants, I mean responsible people who have good credit, and references. I no longer live in Oregon, and don't know what the law is regarding this matter, but there are some things that apply to most places. Where I live, it's almost impossible to get people out, no matter what they do. I am not allowed to ask for a damage deposit either. The best thing is to try to get a most carefully chosen tenant, even if it costs a month's rent as a commission to the realtor. An ounce of prevention, as Benjamin Franklin said. As a tenant myself, in previous years, I always took the best care of the house or apartment. I was living there so it had to represent my personal standards. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who don't recognize the connection between their living environment and their sense of well-being. It doesn't have to have granite countertops or satinless steel appliances, but just very clean and orderly. If the landlord is unresponsive to problems, you can always move out.

Hi Bridget, As a daily reader of the Oregonian online, I have decided that you have the best column on decorating and interiors of all the papers I read. I have enjoyed looking at so many of the links you provide, as well as the interesting things you include, such as the penny wall. Oregon was my home for about 20 years, but now I live in Ontario, about 1.5 hours outside Toronto, so I enjoyed the beautiful white kitchen in the paper today. I have also lived in NYC, so any columns about that great place are very enjoyable. Keep up the great work. You really put a lot into your columns.

Any permanent resident alien should be immediately deported for breaking the law on such a level. There should be no tolerance. We have "zero tolerance" for some little school kid for making a drawing of a gun in art class....ridiculous! It's all out of proportion. It seems that the more serious the crime is, the lesser the punishment. We are just too nice to the wrong people. How do you know some people are telling lies? Their lips are moving.

Rip tide is right. How naive can we be! Why do we believe these people about anything? This has been going on for years with other groups. Our open and free society makes all this possible, and people up to no good know they can count on that. Our only remedy is to come down hard, and certainly do a better job of screening who we give permanent resident status to. They are laughing at us.

At first, I was sympathetic to the women. Then I read about all the drinking and irresponsible behavior, not to mention that one woman has a small child at home. We live in a shameless age, full of immature and selfish people, and this is condoned widely by the culture. Women forget that, no matter what the media tells you, you are foolish to behave in such a way as to invite certain reactions from men. Sorry, but we are creatures of nature and have certain urges that take over under the influence. That men should be held to a higher standard of restraint, in today's world, is ridiculous. To get into one of these situations and then whine about it later just goes to show how much society has disintegrated into nonsense.

I love this story. It's about a real person we asked to fight for our country, and about another real person who was there to help him when he needed help. This is not about a traffic accident. You feckless individuals who are braying about traffic citations should be ashamed of yourselves. Unfortunately, we no longer understand appropriate reactions to things. All you weasels who think you know everything, what you need is a real life, some discipline, and some empathy. We'll have to work on your courage later.

Savages, created by a code of decency turned upside down, in a missguided belief that we need to allow, excuse, overlook, downplay, gloss over in order to compensate. By not having the same standards and expectations for everyone, it makes it very difficult for these miscreants to look at themselves and try to improve their behavior. Beating up someone does not make you a superior person. Behavior has consequences. The victim may have been beaten, but she'll be OK in life. These perps will continue in a dead-end direction.

Liberals are more inclusive? Really? It's so easy to be generous with donations from other people. Let's see what would happen if each OP had to create or grow or pay for something with their own money or effort. You're already seeing the infighting over the money coming in. It's human nature to finally get tired of supporting people who won't work. I recall reading actual ads in the Oregonian for "rent a mob". They don't even try to cover it up. Anyone who brings their child down there to deliver soup is insane! I love so many things about Oregon, but I started calling it, "The Land of the Stupid", referring to greater Portland and the relentlessness of PC and left wing thinking. It's nice to read that there are still some people in Portland with a brain and common sense. The real supporters of this movement will be found out eventually, and it won't be anyone who cares about the USA.

What!! Now I've heard everything! If we (the gov't in the White House at the moment) are overlooking the legions of abuse, a Treasury Secretary who is a tax evader, Black Panthers intimidating white voters in Philadelphia, avowed Communists appointed as "czars" without any scrutiny from the Congress, and things that are put upon the taxpayer by decree, and other things prohibited by the Constitution, going after Clarence Thomas is a laugh out loud joke, and an indication of how "we're getting to them". Dems can't be elected on their policies or ideals, so they have to engage in the politics of personal destruction to achieve their goals. I watched almost every moment of Thomas' supreme court Kangaroo Court on TV. What a disgrace that was. Where are those people today, such as Anita Hill? People in the USA are really getting the picture about the double standard in the media. There are a ton of people I'd like to see investigated, but Clarence Thomas isn't one of them. How about we investigate Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, or Maxine Waters?